Emerging Technologies

This week we were presented the following information and asked to reflect upon it...

In the article, Ravitch: The toll of school reform on public education, Diane Ravitch states:

"Teaching will become a job, not a profession. Young people will typically spend a year or two as teachers, then move on to other, more rewarding careers. Federal and state policy will promote online learning, and computers will replace teaches. Online class sizes will reach 1:100, even 1:200; the job of monitoring the screens will be outsourced, creating large economies for state budgets."

The idea of this makes me so sad.  I am all for incorporating technology into education.  In fact, I think it is a necessity.  But computers are tools.  They are tools that will help our children learn the 21st century skills necessary to function in the future world.  But, they are just that...tools.  There are many lessons that children learn at school which cannot be taught by a computer:  cutting with scissors, creating works of art with hands on materials, making friends and learning how to deal with the hardships of having friends, learning about emotions and how to interact with people, experiencing writing and drawing, etc.  I can not imagine a world without teachers.  Good teachers do so much to guide, nourish and facilitate the holistic learning of young people.  A classroom where children can be at the center of their own education is a good one to be in, I think.  I understand and believe in the idea  of teachers as facilitators.  It is important for teachers to facilitate in a multimodal way, not simply with the use of computers.  Not all children learn best via technology.  Many children learn, very specifically, through the use of hands on materials.  Computers do not provide this. They simply provide one tool, one very effective tool, for children to utilize to enhance and elaborate their learning.

I believe and hope that there will always be an intense need for quality teachers.  I enjoyed reading about the emerging technologies this week.  Cloud computing, mobile devices, game based learning, open content, personal learning environments and learning analytics are all very interesting technologies and I do believe that through the upcoming years, these emerging technologies will become more and more advanced and will ultimately change the way an education is received.  Hopefully, teachers will be able to progress with the technologies and will continually adapt to the educational need in the 21st century.  I believe that need will continue to include quality teachers. 

I simply cannot imagine computers replacing teachers.  In my mind, it simply cannot happen.  People need and will always need social interaction and hands on experience with 3D materials.

Game Based Learning

I created a playlist about video gaming for preschool children.  I began with a few articles discussing the pros and cons of encouraging video gaming in young children, then I presented a few lists of quality, free games for preschool children and some links to specific, well-recommended preschool games.  Enjoy!

Create your own Playlist on MentorMob!

 

I was challenged this week to play a video game for an hour.  I chose to play JumpStart because I thought it was a good opportunity to investigate a game for my children.  I was a character that ran around on screen with a small half-hatched egg following me.  I had that opportunity to play with my egg by decorating it, tickling it and making it dance.  I am certain that in future levels I would have been able to see the egg hatch, but I played for an hour and didn't see it up to that point.  This game is certainly an endogenous game, meaning that it is a complex game that allows players to experiment with prior knowledge and to utilize skills that are used to solve problems.  Throughout this process, I quickly learned that I am not a video-gamer.  I simply feel like I am wasting my time.  The entire time that I am playing I am thinking about the laundry that needs to be folded, the dinner that needs to be prepared and the children that want to play with me.  I love games, but I love board games.  Game night is one of my favorite family evenings.  I love playing and chatting with my family.  I do think, though, that this unit allowed me to consider the benefits that video gaming presents to children.  I am the mom that is constantly asking her kids to stop playing video games and to go do something else.  I limit their "screen" play to an hour a day simply because I would prefer them to be up, active and communicating with each other.  This module has introduced me to various benefits of video gaming including thinking through experimentation, gathering data from multiple sources and making decisions on what to do quickly, multitasking, taking risks and making dangerous moves without any risk to themselves and the feeling of improvement and success.  I definitely will be more lenient with their screen play and will try to remember that they are learning valuable skills while playing.  But, I do think that balance is key.  It is very important for them to be outside playing and communicating with their family and friends.

Here is a picture of me playing JumpStart...

Pencil Me In: A Journey in the Fight for Graphite by John T. Spencer

The book Pencil Me In:  A Journey in the Fight for Graphite by John T. Spencer is about a nineteenth century man, Tom Johnson who struggles with the journey to include pencils in his classroom.  He believes in the benefit that pencils can have in a child's education and encourages his colleagues, administrators and community to accept pencils as a progressive technological tool that will enhance the education of the students.  The story is a metaphor for what is current in education today.  Educators struggle with the incorporation of computers in the classroom.  They fear them because they present change.  The use of computers in the classroom in a quality way encourages teachers to be critical of their own educational pedagogy.  The educational curriculum needs to be very child centered with the teacher acting as facilitator which is a new way of thinking for many educators.  Anytime a fairly drastic change is occurring in the field of education, there will be supporters, those who are unsure but willing and those who simply don't want to accept change or the possibilities that come with it.  Spencer showcases Tom Johnson's experiences with all of these types of people who are hesitant to make the change from a piece of chalk and slate to pencil and paper work.  He addresses many current issues but instead relates them to a change that occurred in the nineteenth century.  While discussing these issues in this manner, he makes it clear that in the future he believes that computers will be used just as commonly and thoughtlessly as pencils and paper are used today.  Although the change to a computer integrated curriculum can be scary, challenging and overwhelming for many, in years to come it will become as commonplace as pencils and paper are in classrooms in the 21st century.

Throughout the book, Spencer presents many 21st century issues in the context of a story taking place in the 19th century.    For example, he discusses the issue of safety.  Pencils are sharp which makes them inherently a dangerous tool but more importantly they are a tool which enables someone to write damaging or unkind words.  By writing something down on paper one child could bully another in a more hurtful way than with words.  This issue is obviously very prevalent in todays society but with the use of computers instead of pencils.  Cyber-bullying is a very real and frightening issue.  Children are able to hurt others in a way that is in a more broad, more expansive and also more anonymous way.  Words can be posted online and with the click of a button, a huge amount of people can have access to those words.  Also, the individual posting the comment does not see the victims reaction and the pain caused.  That individual can disassociated him/herself with the true implications caused by the words posted.  Spencer then questions whether or not that means we then stop using the technological tools or  act proactively and teach students to use the tools in an ethical and productive way.  Do educators dismiss all of the wonderful capabilities that technology can provide students in order to stay away from limited negative outcomes, or do they embrace the tools for what they are and educate students how to use them responsibly?  

Spencer discusses the importance of social media many times throughout the book.  Tom Johnson truly wants his students to be contributing, thoughtful members of their classroom community.  He wants his students to feel free to discuss what is on their minds, to convey messages through pencil/paper writing and to give and gain feedback on the messages they contribute.  Students are encouraged to keep a plog (a nineteenth century blog)  which can be read and commented on by those who subscribe.  Tom Johnson's classroom is also struggling with the use of a pen-pal network (19th century social media network).  The administration hesitates to approve use of it, but Johnson fights for its use discussing many benefits and life experiences that students will gain.

I finished reading the book...finally.    Although I appreciate his story about the nineteenth century man, Tom Johnson who struggles with the journey to include pencils in his classroom.  I found the book to be very boring and difficult to get through.  I absolutely love to read, but this book was a tough one for me to complete, honestly.  I just felt like the metaphor was too drawn out.  I understand the point that eventually the use of computers will be as normal and accepted as the use of pencils in our classrooms today.  Technology offers tools that need to be utilized in the educational world to enhance and elaborate a child's education.  And, I enjoyed the way he discussed these issues and made it clear that it really doesn't matter what change is presented in education, people will have difficulty accepting it.  That fact is timeless.  Change is hard and there will always be those who are ready to jump on board and those that hesitate.  I guess I would have preferred it be a little more true to reality.  Reading about iparchment and plogs just bothered me for some reason.  I am certain there was a pencil revolution in this time era and many of the issues that are current today were difficult issues then too.  I guess I would have just preferred it be not quite such a literal metaphor.  It seems it could have had the same effect but been a little more believable in story.